Rae Bareli: In the soaring temperatures, BJP president Amit Shah kept all guns blazing when he mounted a blistering attack on the Congress at a rally at Sonia Gandhi’s bastion — Rae Bareli.

“For four generations, Rae Bareli has been held captive by the Gandhi family and, today, we promise that we will take you out of the family’s clutches and put you on the road to development. BJP will make Rae Bareli free from family rule. We will make Rae Bareli an ideal constituency,” he said.

Mr Shah said that the Congress had misled the people in the name of development and it is the Narendra Modi government that has pushed development in Uttar Pradesh and Rae Bareli.

Demanding an apology from Congress president Rahul Gandhi for his saffron terrorism remark, the BJP president said that Mr Gandhi had defamed the Hindu culture by talking about saffron terror. “Now that the court has acquitted Aseemanandji and others in the Mecca Masjid blast case, the Congress owes an apology to the nation,” he said. He also sought an apology from the Congress over the Supreme Court verdict on the Justice Loya issue. “The SC verdict has exposed the Congress and people are angry with Rahul Gandhi for hatching this conspiracy. While the Congress is always working with a negative attitude, Prime Minister Narendra Modi exudes positivity and works relentlessly for the country,” he said.

Mr Shah said that Uttar Pradesh was earlier known for goons and criminals but after the Yogi Adityanath government came to power, criminals have been reined in. “Development is being fast-tracked and farmers are getting a good price for their produce. We have waived off the loans of farmers and roads have been made free from potholes. Efforts are on to increase job opportunities for the youth,” he said.

The BJP chief said he was confident that the BJP would not only form government in Karnataka where elections are scheduled next month, but would return to power with a greater majority in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

“The whole country knows how much work has been done under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Yogi Adityanath’s one-year rule in UP so far,” he said.

Listing his government’s achievements, Mr Shah said that the governments in the state and the Centre were working towards pro-poor policies and were making sure that the benefits percolate down to the beneficiaries.

Mr Shah also welcomed Congress MLC Dinesh Singh who joined the BJP with his brother and zila panchayat chairman Awadesh Singh.